Editorial: Island of impunity | Tamil Guardian

29.4.18

Editorial: Island of impunity | Tamil Guardian: The report adds to an extensive collection that documents the brutality of Sri Lankan state violence. The details do not make for easy reading. Villagers were made to walk in to minefields, Sri Lankan sting teams practised abductions and executed bodies were burnt whilst officers drank arrack. The merciless violence deployed confirms once more what Tamils have been saying for decades, including what asylum seekers fleeing the island continue to testify to this day. Impunity on the island has allowed an alarming level of human rights violations to take place unabated.

The history of the Special Task Force in particular, is notorious. The fact that the UK trained these troops, and continues to do so, is indefensible. All such programs must be suspended. There is nothing gained in being associated with soldiers accused of such heinous crimes and who remain unpunished. However, Britain’s unwillingness to send a strong message to Colombo on its dismal lack of action on human rights, and instead allowing the controversial minister Liam Fox to meet with Sri Lanka’s president in London last week, only embeds its complicity further. By gifting Sri Lanka the international legitimacy and diplomatic recognition it craves, the UK is worsening its tainted legacy on the island.